February 11, 2008

My children have been asking me for quite some time to try my hand at making doughnuts. I have to admit, I've been resisting their requests. I was feeling pretty rusty with my frying skills and the fried ravioli appetizer that went horribly wrong popped vividly into my mind (think smoke, burning food, panicked dog, crying toddler). However, my children are quite persistent and have developed some wicked negotiating skills. It wasn't long before I was relenting under the combined weight of their arguments.

With my fate sealed, I chose the Old Fashioned Chocolate Doughnut recipe from my Fanny Farmer cookbook. I was just praying that Fanny's recipe would save the day. Loaded with cocoa powder and relying on baking powder to give them a bit of loft, this sounded like something that could work for my first foray into making gluten free doughnuts. Then I selected a Creamy Chocolate Frosting and a Vanilla Glaze recipe to finish off these delectable little delights.

Doughnut frying novice that I am, I managed to burn the first batch of doughnuts. Thankfully, it was easy to modify my timing on flipping the doughnuts over and the following batches were saved from having a dense carbon coating. After they drained and cooled down, I dipped half of the doughnuts into a boiled chocolate frosting and the rest into a light vanilla glaze.

I was pretty pleased with myself on Saturday morning, decked out in my apron and pajamas, eating my own gluten free chocolate doughnuts. They had a dense cocoa flavor that wasn't too sweet. The texture was like cake and held together nicely in your hand without falling apart. My husband and I thought they were pretty good, although my children would have preferred a sweeter doughnut. Their favorite part was the much sweeter chocolate frosting.

1. In a large bowl, dump in all the dry ingredients and stir together.

2. In a medium bowl, pour in the almond milk, agave syrup (if you are using it instead of cane sugar), butter and egg. Stir together.

3. Pour the liquid ingredients slowly into the large bowl holding the dry ingredients. Then stir together. If the mixture is too dry, add one tablespoon full of almond milk at a time until the dough is the right consistency. It should hold together and stay together when rolled into a ball.

4. Divide the dough in half and place one part on a piece of parchment paper. Cover the dough with another piece of parchment paper and roll out until the dough is about 1/2 inch thick. Place the rolled dough sandwiched in between the parchment paper in the refrigerator to cool for at least 1 hour.

5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and using the cutter press out the doughnuts. Make sure to save the centers, so you can make doughnut holes. Place the cut doughnuts and holes on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Continue until you have cut doughnuts out of all the dough.

6. In a heavy sauce pan pour in enough oil so that it is at least 1 to 2 inches deep. (I used my electric wok to fry the doughnuts.) Place your frying thermometer on the side of the pan and bring up the temperature of the oil until it reaches 360 degrees Fahrenheit.

7. Fry 3 to 4 of the doughnuts at a time. Use a chopstick to flip them over to cook the other side. Keep an eye on them as they cook quickly and will burn if left on one side too long. Use a slotted spoon or a spider to remove the doughnuts from the oil. Place them on a paper towel lined pan to drain. Allow to cool fully before frosting.

8. Dip one side of the doughnuts into the chocolate frosting and set on a parchment paper lined pan to dry. For the glazed doughnuts, dip one side into the mixture and then flip them over. Use chopsticks to stand up the doughnut to roll the side of the doughnut through the glaze. Set the glazed doughnut on the parchment paper to dry.

2. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, bring the water to a boil. Once it is boiling, dump in the chocolate and stir. Then pour in the sugar and the cornstarch. Constantly stir the mixture over the heat until it is thick and smooth. Then remove the pan from the heat.

3. Dump in the butter, vanilla and salt and beat well.

Vanilla Glaze

1/3 cup powdered sugar1 Tb water1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a small bowl, dump in the powdered sugar, water and vanilla extract. Stir together and using the back of the spoon press out any of powdered sugar that is still clumped together.

Velvet - Good luck with your new GF journey. It's an exciting one and never dull.

Cheryl, Cakelaw, Gretchen, Veggie Girl, Gluti Girl and Sarah - I had so much fun making these doughnuts. I'm glad I took the effort try frying again. I used to do it quite often, as Southerners love their fried chicken. However, the fried ravioli incident wasn't pretty...